WATCH: Sen. Schiff says Patel might be first FBI nominee who has pleaded the Fifth

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., questioned Kash Patel on Thursday in his confirmation hearing for FBI director.
In his second round of questioning, Schiff pushed Patel to share what he testified to a grand jury about President Donald Trump's handling of classified documents at his private residence, Mar-a-Lago.
"Mr. Patel may be the first nominee for FBI director in history who felt it necessary to plead the Fifth," Schiff said.
Schiff also criticized Patel's nomination.
"How can any of us think that, that his background, his qualifications, hold a candle to the people who went before him? How did we get here where we are defending a nominee like this?" Schiff said.
Patel appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A loyal Trump supporter, Patel is a former public defender turned Justice Department prosecutor. He served in President Donald Trump’s first term as chief of staff to acting defense secretary Christopher Miller. In interviews, he has said he wants to reduce the size of the national intelligence community, and shut down the FBI’s headquarters in Washington. He’s also repeated the false narrative that Trump won the 2020 election.
Watch PBS News for daily, breaking and live news, plus special coverage. We are home to PBS News Hour, ranked the most credible and objective TV news show.
Newsletters: www.pbs.org/ne...
PBS News podcasts: www.pbs.org/ne...
Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: to.pbs.org/2Jb...
Find more from PBS News at www.pbs.org/ne...
Subscribe to our KZbin channel: bit.ly/2HfsCD6
Follow us:
TikTok: / pbsnews
X: / newshour
Instagram: / newshour
Facebook: www.pbs.org/new...